The Pride Lands: Part I
by Ptikobj
Summary: Enemies hold bases at both the northern and southern ends of the Pride Lands, and an unseen shadow lurks the land that seems to have a dangerous interest in Kiara's friend, Hezakiah. Can Rafiki and the lions prevent the fall of the Kingdom?
1. Restless Nights

The Pride Lands

Chapter 1

Restless Nights

X

I am not Walter Disney, and I am not connected to Disney in any way. The characters from the motion pictures The Lion King, The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1 and ½ (or The Lion King 3) do not belong to me, but to Disney. All characters that do not appear in those motion pictures do belong to me, and are not to be used without my permission. This disclaimer applies to this chapter, and all those following it.

'The Pride Lands' belongs to me, Troy Wong, a.k.a. Poodle. It is not to be posted on any other site or sold at all with or without my permission- I will never post my Lion King stories on any other site except for and If you see this story posted on any site, save those two mentioned above, please tell me.

Lion live the king!

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Foreword:

Well, here's my next story. 'The Pride Lands' is set after the death of Mufasa, during Simba's reign. The first version of this story (which was in script form, incredibly short, and incredibly bad) fits in perfectly with all three existing Lion King movies (because I like to stick with the official story line), and I plan that the second version (this one) will do just the same. Now that's enough of that. The rest will be revealed later on. There are three very important things that I wish to point out to you here to avoid any later confusion.

Sometimes in the story you will see things such as 11 B.F. and 1 A.F. You should be aware that B.F. means 'Before the Fall' and A.F. means 'After the Fall'- it works much like our BC and AD. When I say 'Fall', I don't mean autumn. It's something much more than that. So, what is it, really? Pretty obvious, but you'll see anyway if you read on to the end.

At times I will say that certain characters are a certain number of years old, however, not in human years. I will never refer to a character's age using human years. Assuming that lions live up to about 75 lion years old, and seeing as lions in the wild most commonly live up to 15 human years, you can easily figure out how many lion years fit into one human one. Divide 75 by 15 and you end up with 5, thus concluding that for every one human year that passes, five lion years pass within. Note that I can only assume how old the canon characters are, and when I say that Simba is less than twenty years old, it is only my estimation. Again, whenever I speak of years in this story, I mean lion years, and not human years.

At certain times, certain characters in the story will speak in another language. That language is predictably Swahili, the language of both East Africa and The Lion King. The chances are that you won't understand a word, so I'll include translations and notes at the end of the story in the Author's Notes, if Swahili is used. Some characters' names will be derived from the language of Swahili as well, in which case the translations will appear in the same place as the latter.

I guess that's enough rambling for now. So without any further ado, I give you The Pride Lands!

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Once in a kingdom of lions and magic lived a King, a Queen, a babysitter, a shaman, a boy, and a princess named Kiara. The King's name was Simba, and the Queen's name was Nala. Kiara was their beloved daughter. Her friend's name, the boy, was Hezakiah. Their babysitter's name was Zazu, and watching over the Kingdom was the wise shaman Rafiki.

King Simba's Kingdom stretched far and wide, covering rich fields of beautiful green grass, tranquil rivers of crystal-clear water, and gray mountains that reached to the sky with their snowy peaks. But despite all there great features that graced the land and all that lived within its boundaries, not all was perfect. Over the Northern Border in a deep, dark, gas-filled pit lived hyenas. Hundreds of them unwillingly called the desolate place their home, and each one of them hated the lions with all their hearts, for it was the lions that forced them into the land. To the south of the kingdom was a dry plain called the Outlands, with towering termite mounds scattered unsparingly across its surface like litter. There lived starving, hateful lions. These, just like the hyenas, hated all that lived in Simba's glorious Kingdom, but particularly he, for it was Simba who exiled them once he reclaimed the throne.

Now, the beginning of this story that I am about to tell you happened so long ago that to start there and work my way up to the present day would fill up many chapters with unnecessary, unnecessarily boring facts. And so, we start in the shaman Rafiki's home, the magnificent Tree of Life. It is of course during the reign of King Simba, just a few years after the birth of his daughter. The year is 11 B.F. and so far, all is well.

X

Rafiki had been having quite a hard time thinking lately, and an even harder time getting to sleep. Memories of the death of a dear friend of his continued to plague his mind. The guilt that came with it was just as unbearable, if not even more so. It had happened years ago, but only now had it returned to him and the reason was a mystery. He had tried everything that he knew of as a shaman to cure himself of the insomnia that it caused, but nothing would work. If anything, it wasted his energy and only made the old mandrill more tired, the marks of which were now showing clearly in and below his eyes.

On the very day that the story began, Rafiki had not caught a wink of sleep in nearly a week. Unfortunately for him, he now had to get through a 'short talk' with the King Simba's most loyal subject and servant, whose name has already been mentioned here.

In case you do not know whom I am talking about, that person was Zazu. Perhaps it is a strange name to give a person in our society, but that particular name was not all so rare in the Kingdom of the Pride Lands. Zazu was Simba's majordomo bird. He did everything from arranging where and when conferences with the wildebeests would take place, to taking care of the cubs while their mothers where otherwise occupied. He was a hornbill, if you must know. In those days, hornbills were blue with huge, smooth "banana beaks," as someone once put it. Needless to say, this did something to make their appearance rather comical. Zazu was no different from hornbills in those days, except that he may have had a little bit of magic of his own, or, more likely, a few tricks up his sleeve. I will explain them here.

I can give you two examples right now, and perhaps I will give you more down the line. "The first noticeably strange thing about Zazu is," said a bird to me, "is that when you're flying behind him, you can clearly see that he has eight tail feathers, which is actually quite normal for birds of his type." Then she went on listing all the types of birds that lived in the Pride Lands, and how many tails feathers each type normally had. But of course, that's not important, and I can't remember any of it now, anyway. When I finally coaxed her back onto the right track (or my track, at least), she said, "Oh, yes, Zazu, right. When he's standing on the ground, you can only see three or four tail feathers. Now that's strange if I do say so myself. I wouldn't be surprised if," and so on.

The second one of these, which a mouse told me of, is that Zazu has teeth. Not sharp pointy teeth like lions, but big square-looking teeth, like the herd animals. When he told me this, I said to the mouse (who happened to be soaking wet with saliva at the time), "But hornbills don't have teeth, and I'm pretty sure that no other type of bird has teeth either!" Our argument went on for many more a minute, and at the end of it all I still didn't believe him. That is, until he dragged me up to Zazu's tree by the Waterhole, grabbed my hand, and dragged my nails (which are particularly long) down a slate. Now let me tell you, that little mouse moved lightning fast, and he was mighty strong, too. And hey presto, Zazu's beak began to spasm and shift until it was wide open, revealing a set of abnormally large, white teeth.

Wow, I have dragged on quite a bit about one bird that doesn't play a very big role in the story. Speaking of the story, I really should get on with telling that.

So there was Rafiki, on his bed of leaves, eyes closed, trying to get to sleep, when Zazu came along and landed on a branch in the tree above him. Zazu was opening his mouth to speak when, quick as lightning, Rafiki jumped up, grabbed his staff from its resting place, and held it threateningly up to the bird, who hadn't even gotten a word out yet. "Oh, it is just you," said Rafiki, lowering his weapon.

"Of course it's just me!" exclaimed Zazu in a frustrated tone of voice. "Who did you think it was?"

The shaman looked away and sighed. "I thought it was danger. You will have to excuse me for that. I have not been getting very much sleep lately," said he with a deep yawn.

Zazu didn't seem to care all that much. "Well, Simba asked me to get this message to you no matter what, so you had better keep awake for this, or I shall have to stay here longer than I need to, and I'm sure neither of us wants that to happen."

"Yes?" asked Rafiki.

"His Majesty wishes you to look into the Dream Pool for _the thing._"

"_The thing_?"

"Yes, yes, _the thing_!"

Rafiki's brow creased as he searched through his mind for memory of any sort of _thing_ that he and Simba may have discussed in the past, but he found nothing of use or interest. "Zazu, did he tell you what _the thing_ was?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Zazu in a tone of voice that hinted that he was outraged as being asked such a ridiculous question. Rafiki raised an eyebrow in wait for the answer. But all that came was a long, awkward gap of dead silence, broken only by the occasional rustling of leaves nearby that always came with the occasional cool breeze.

"No!" yelled Zazu some time later in a much whinier voice than he normally used. At the same time he burst into tears. "Why didn't he tell me? Has he lost his trust in me? Or, worse yet, is he going to fire me? Is that why he isn't telling me any more: because I won't be permitted to know soon? Ah! You trust me, don't you Rafiki? You can tell him that I'm to be trusted, can't you?" He fell to his knees and started begging him. "Can't you tell him?" But Rafiki did not seem to care. He had long been over at the other side of the tree, where all his empty fruit husks lay, where he stored his herbs and other unmentionables. He was searching through them, lifting lids and closing them again, moving the shells around.

Suddenly, Rafiki was up and off the ground with something hidden in his right fist. Before Zazu knew it, his beak had been forced open, and the shaman's right hand was inside his mouth, forcing something onto his tongue. Just as suddenly as that had happened, Zazu's beak was closed, Rafiki was standing back and cleaning his hands. Then, the bird's face was twisting, his body cringing. Then his beak flew open, and like a volcano spewing lava, out of his stomach, through his throat, and out of his mouth came his half-digested breakfast.

Rafiki jumped back just in time to avoid getting the vomit all over his feet. "Oh, now there was no need to do that, Zazu. I did not think that even you would have so little resistance to against that plant." He chuckled.

"O my goodness! What in the world was that? That's the most revolting taste! It's- O, by the name of Mufasa!" He shuddered at both the memory and the bitter after-taste of the herb that Rafiki had forced into his mouth, and then he vomited another time.

Zazu spat to get the taste out of his mouth, but it was no use. "Rafiki, perhaps what you do not understand is that when you want someone to try your strange exotic foods, you ask them politely if they would like to have some, and you certainly do not SHOVE IT DOWN THEIR THROATS!"

"You think that I eat that weed?" He laughed for a brief moment. "I would not dream of letting that plant touch my tongue. I made you taste it to stop you from crying all over my floor. I have only just been told of its existence by the Inner Circle, and that its taste is so terrible that all the consumer can do after eating it is gag."

"What? You used me as a test subject without concern of my safety?"

"Yes."

Zazu opened his mouth for another shouting fit, only to think that his breath and energy would be better used to find some water to wash the taste away. Instead he said, "That's very unlike you to use an innocent person in one of your experiments."

The mandrill shrugged (which was also quite unlike him to do) "People quite often do things that are unlike them when they have been pushed close to their limits. I did not care for your health or safety just now because I have been deprived of sleep for a long time. And you burst into tears just awhile ago because you have recently ended another intimate relationship. Or should I say, the relationship was ended for you."

Zazu's eyelids flew wide open. "How did you ever manage to find that out?" screamed he, very much angry at that point. He strode towards Rafiki in his fury, stopping only when he came to the puddle of vomit that separated them both from each other. At this point, Zazu was feeling quite woozy and light-headed, though he did not realise it due to his anger.

"I have many eyes watching things for me, even while I am asleep," explained Rafiki. "I also have a pair of each of my own." And he grinned.

Upon hearing this, Zazu seemed to grow larger; his eyes burned fiery red; his voice became a little deeper. "Why you little!" He yelled as he leaped high over the soupy green puddle, towards Rafiki's neck at an amazing speed. He yelled even louder- not in anger, but disgust- as a wad of black weed flew out of Rafiki's hand and lodged itself into his mouth like a boulder fitting perfectly into a cave. Immediately he stopped moving forward, instead falling and landing with a nice _splat _in his own vomit.

"Is everything alright down there?" called a high voice from a bough above them. Rafiki looked up to meet it. It was a bird, of course, for only Rafiki had to skill to climb anywhere in the Tree of Life, and not even the lemurs, or monkeys, or gorillas, or other mandrills of the Inner Circle could climb the mighty baobab's boughs.

"Yes, we are fine indeed. Were you sent by the King?" asked Rafiki.

"Yes," answered the bird. "I was sent because Zazu," she eyed Zazu who was face-down in the green puddle and moaning, "should have returned to Pride Rock a long time ago. There are meetings to be arranged, and messages to be sent."

"I do not think that he will be arranging or delivering anything for a long time now. But you are sending this message to me now. You could fill in for him."

"I am but a stork that has been given the privilege of delivering a message from the King," said the stork.

"Very good then! And you will continue to be privileged until I return to Pride Rock with Zazu in a few days' time," replied Rafiki.

And the stork had not much choice but to obey.

X

Over the next two days, Rafiki nursed Zazu back to proper health, all the while growing even more tired than he already was. Now, a few things were realised during these days, the first of which was that the _oren-weed_- as Rafiki had named it- had far more to it than just a bad taste. It contained toxins inside its leaves that caused headaches, vomiting, mood swings, drowsiness, and passing out. However, it would not kill you, no matter how much you ingested; though the effects were cumulative. Smaller people, such as Zazu, were less resistant to the effects of the plant than bigger people. This explained why no word has ever come from the Waterhole (where the plant grows in abundance) telling of a herd animal that suddenly fell sick after eating the black plants around its banks.

At first it was thought to be _marrolass_ – the marrolass that grew near ponds, streams, and even deep puddles in the forests of the Inner Circle. Marrolass had the same terrible taste as oren-weed, but that was all the unpleasantness it had in store for its consumers.

What had happened is that Rafiki was wandering around the Waterhole one day, and found the black weed that he had never seen before. He sent a detailed description to the Inner Circle, and he soon received a return message that told of the marrolassThe two looked exactly the same, except for one small, easily mistakable thing: the leaves of the marrolass had four veins branching out on each side of their main vein, whereas oren-weed had only three veins on each side. Apparently the oren-weed is a species of plant native only to the Pride Lands, and the marrolass is native only to the forests of the Inner Circle.

By the way, if you wanted to know, all you have to do to cure yourself of the oren-weed sickness is eat fresh _water-maize_, which, strangely enough, grows quite literally right next to the oren-weed. Water-maize is a pale yellowish-brown plant that has seedpods that look a lot like ears of corn. The average water-maize stem stands one metre high at the seedpod.

Shortly after returning to health, Zazu traveled with Rafiki back to Pride Rock to meet Simba, Nala, and of course, Kiara. But as you should know, Rafiki's main reason for return was to find out what _the thing_ was. They left the Tree in the warm glow of the rising sun, and arrived before evening. They journeyed quickly- Zazu did so because he felt that he had left his job and duties for far too long, and Rafiki simply because he had not seen the lions in a long time and had many things to discuss.

On their arrival they were greeted not only by the royal family, but by the whole pride as well. All of them met at the foot of Pride Rock. Simba stood in front of the rest with Nala at his right hand side, and Kiara standing between them. The Princess did not look too happy to see Zazu return all alive and well, nor did the three other cubs that lived in Pride Rock. In contrast, everyone else was delighted to see him return, healthy and happy.

It took awhile for everything to settle down again. As soon as Zazu was sent back to work and the lionesses had headed either back to the den or the Grasslands, It was noticed that Kiara and her friends were missing. By the time a search party was sent out, the evening was leaving and the night was coming in to take its place. But it would soon be seen that there was no need for a search party, for as the lionesses departed, an old friend returned with the cubs. Thanks to a few white lies, they didn't get in trouble. But this left a lot for Rafiki and Simba to discuss when they finally made their way up to the very top of Pride Rock.

They talked and talked until the moon was high in the sky and all, on and in Pride Rock were sleeping comfortably, save them. Just as Rafiki felt the memories that had been disturbing him were long gone and his insomnia was soon to follow them, Simba asked, "So what did the Dream Pool tell you?"

Rafiki was taken aback by this, having no idea as to what Simba was asking him about. Then, all of a sudden, he remembered one of his reasons for going to Pride Rock. "Ah, I remember now," said he, as it all came back to him. "If you had not said that, it would have gone by without discussion until tomorrow."

"Well, what did you see in the water?" asked Simba ever more impatiently.

"I did not see anything, because I did not look," answered Rafiki solemnly. "Zazu came to me one morning and told me that you wanted me to look into the Dream Pool for you for _the thing_. I have wondered ever since what this _thing_ you speak of is."

"What? You don't remember?" asked Simba with a hint of confusion in his voice. "We talked about it the last time you were here, didn't we?"

Rafiki chuckled. "I may be much older than you Simba, but that does not mean you have a better memory than me. Elephants never forget, and I do not forget either."

"You mean that-"

"I remember our last conversation clearly. Kiara had not been born; the sun was shining brightly; there was not a cloud in the sky! It was your birthday, too. All you wanted me to tell you, and all you wanted to talk about was your life. You asked me- I remember like it was yesterday- to tell you your life's story, from your birth to your return to Pride Rock." At this point Rafiki remembered everything that had happened in the Pride Lands during that time- the hidden war against the Evil Ones and the disappearance of his five best friends, though that does not come into this story.

"What's wrong?" asked Simba.

"Oh, just some remembrance of a few unpleasant moments. Nothing to worry about."

"It's about my dad, isn't it?"

"No, no, nothing like that! I of all people would not be dwelling in the distant realms of the past like so," said Rafiki. "He is in the sky with the Great Kings of the Past, and I do not have a grain of doubt that it is where he belongs. That is nothing to be sad about."

Now the idea of sleeping was far away, for both of them were wide awake at that time once more, whether they want to be, or not. They sat there in peace for a long while, until the silence became near unbearable for Simba, and he just had to open his mouth and speak once more. "You never really told me how Zazu got sick, Rafiki. Now's a good time to do it."

"Now what are you trying to say?" asked Rafiki suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing," answered Simba, "except that Zazu has never been sick in his whole life. You didn't do anything nasty to him, did you? You know better than I do that the Inner Circle doesn't allow that sort of thing."

"He came to my tree two days ago and got sick. I nursed him back to health, and brought him back here today. End of story. If there is anything you want to know, then you can go and ask him tomorrow."

"You know what's a better idea? I can ask you now."

"I have already told you all there is to tell, Simba. Perhaps you are too inquisitive for your own good. You will make a fool of yourself one day if you are not careful!""

"Come on, Rafiki. I know you're hiding something."

"There is nothing more for me to hide."

"Don't lie!"

"I am not lying!"

"Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes. You're not the only one that can read minds."

"I know I am not the only one! But you are not one of them!"

"Don't make me use that 'I'm the King, so do what I say' thing. You know we both don't want me to."

"You would not dare."

"I would."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes." And they continued to squabble in that fashion for quite some time until Simba finally got so annoyed with saying "Yes," and keeping on guard for Rafiki's tricks that he said, "As I am the King of the Pride Lands, you will tell me the truth!"

Then Rafiki had no choice. He had to tell the truth, because disobeying the King's royal orders was one of the three worst crimes that anyone could commit in that land. In fact, it was the first, which just goes to tell you how powerful the King was. The other two crimes were rape and murder. Murder was the second crime of the three, and though it was taken very seriously, people were rarely prosecuted for it, because it was hard to tell whether the ones in question were killing for food (which was, of course, permitted) or killing for anything else. Rape was also hard to detect, but not as hard. It is speculated that many have been falsely accused and punished for this third crime, because in normal circumstances, the only witness report that they could rely on was the females'. She could have said yes or no- the fate of her partner rested on her tongue. It meant that if you were a citizen of the Pride Lands in those days, you had better choose your spouse carefully, or they could just turn around and stab you in the back.

So Rafiki told him about the weeds and the vomiting and the fighting. He also told him about what he had discovered about the oren-weed, and how he had come across it, and all about the marrolass in the forests of the Inner Circle. At first Simba remained with a sober expression held on his face, but as the story went on, a smile twitched at his lip, and by the end, he could not help but have a laugh over it all. All was well, and the talking went on, until eventually they found a new topic which was closer to home: Zazu.

"He burst into tears when he was giving me your message. Did you know that?" asked Rafiki.

"Zazu? Really? Why'd he do that?" asked Simba.

"You can ask him yourself, because I do not know the answer for sure. But I can tell you that he seemed to be very troubled that you would not tell him what the thing is. Also," he looked around as if someone was listening in, and then, leaning in closer to Simba he said, "he has recently ended another relationship with a female. I think that this may be the reason why he cried."

"Hey, come to think of it, he's been acting just like that over the last couple of weeks. Normally when I don't tell him everything, he understands and just goes off to do his job. But lately it's been the opposite- the complete opposite."

"Well then it may be that he needs a break from all this flying around all the time," suggested Rafiki. "You say that he has never been sick in his whole life (until two days ago). Has he ever taken a break from work? Have you ever told him that he can take one?"

"Well of course I've tried to give him a break, but he never takes them. He's way too attached to his job, but it's all he has. Actually, there'll be a council meeting in a few days to decide whether the majordomo's one-week-leave-period per year should be extended to a month. If that passes, then I'll hold another meeting to make it compulsory for him to take the days off," said Simba.

"I have an idea: hire another bird to help him. Not another majordomo, but just a messenger to lighten the load. Better yet, you could give him an apprentice to follow him around and do as he pleases. Then when he's gone, that apprentice can fill his role perfectly.

"He'd never agree to it. He'd say something like, 'It would just slow me down,' or he'd get all freaked out and think that I was about to fire him." Both of them laughed at the thought. "I wouldn't dream of firing him. We both know Zazu. He'd rather die than lose his job." He sighed. "I remember the day that Nala and I went to the Elephant Graveyard. We told her that we were going to the Waterhole, but my mom sent Zazu to watch over us anyway. I said clearly that I'd fire him as soon as I became King," and he chuckled as he said the last word, as did Rafiki.

"Somehow, I do not think that you will be doing that soon- or ever, for that matter," said Rafiki.

"It'd destroy him."

"Ah, yes, I think it would. Children say many things. They promise more. Most things they say, they will come to regret, and most promises they make they cannot keep. And some of the rest of the things they say are usually lies."

"Are you saying that children can't be trusted?"

"I am just saying that on that day, you said that you could never marry Nala because 'it would be too weird', yet here you are, King of the Pride Lands, with Nala as your Queen. What is more is that Kiara exists."

"Yeah, well things change. Kids grow into their teens just like that, and before you know it, they're independent adults. Then they don't need you anymore," his voice grew softer and he looked away, "but you're still there, standing in the background."

"Ah, yes, the teenage years. I can tell you, I have seen Kiara in her teens. She is beautiful, yes, but those years will be hell for you."

"Boyfriend?"

Rafiki coughed.

"Help us all."

"Help you!" And they both had a good laugh about it until it died away, and silence fell yet again and remained, until at length, Rafiki spoke. "But change is good." It was true. It was change that made Simba return to the Pride Lands. It was change that made the hyenas flee back to the Graveyard, and it was change that led to Simba's evil uncle's- Scar's death. "You would have never become King without it, and this land would have remained leafless and dry forever."

"No one really wants to live every day of their life the same way as they lived a certain one," said Simba quietly.

"Except for maybe Zazu. And speaking of that, it is time you told me what the thing is."

"Yeah, I nearly forgot about that. I just wanted you to look into the Dream Pool for me to see if I'd have a good reign or not. You know, if I'll be a good King," explained Simba.

"What? That is what you wanted me to look into the Pool for you for? Simba, you are worrying too much. You are less than twenty years old. Do not trouble yourself with the future. As I have told you before, let the past go, live the present to the full, and worry not about the future. It can be changed, but in this case, if you found out what it was meant to be in like in the first place, it would most certainly change. Knowing every detail of your reign will do more bad than good," said Rafiki.

Simba just sighed deeply. "If you say so," said he, seemingly disappointed.

Rafiki carefully looked into his eyes and observed his expression. "You worry for Kiara's safety, not of your reign. But I have already told you all I am allowed to. In fact, I have told you more. For clarifying that she has a boyfriend, the Inner Circle would probably have me relocated to another land many leagues away. You know that she will hate you for being so overprotective of her as soon as she hits eleven, do you not?"

"It's a dangerous world out there. I'd rather have her alive and hating me than dead."

X

On that same night a calf in a large herd of elephants spotted two white dots approaching on the horizon. More and more appeared until he grew terrified and yelled. The whole group turned to the sight and saw the dots as the child had, but it did not remain that way for long. The white spots were eyes, as the soon realised, when black shapes came lumbering out of the darkness. The creatures were small, but many. There was howling, barking, growling, and snarling.

Something leaped and the child fell to the ground. Laughter swirled all around- terrible, disturbing, maniacal laughter. And still, shadows crept and merged into each other, afterwards separating, until the whole herd was encircled by the white dots: the staring, unflinching eyes in the night.

Everywhere, elephants were falling to the ground in pain as they felt things pierce their legs: the deep bites of their hunters. Bark and trumpet alike erupted from the area and lingered in the air until the sun poked its head over the mountains. The creatures fled back to the north in fear of being seen, but the herd leader already knew what they were; the only thing that their attackers could have been was the bane of the Pride Lands: hyenas.

As she counted the dead, she decided that something had to be done. Even then, blood trickled from her left knee where a hyena's jaws had sunk deep. They had to turn to the King for help.

X

The next day, Zazu went to Simba telling him that a large herd of female elephants were demanding to speak to him. So immediately, the King left and was lead to the Waterhole where, true enough, a herd was impatiently waiting. Without waiting for him to greet them, the tallest, biggest built female stepped forward and spoke.

She explained that the hyenas and other such predators had been showing a particular interest in her herd as of late, and even more lately, they had been hunted in the night. Normally even a large pack of hyenas could never even injure a herd of elephants such as that one, but the past few nights had not been normal situations at all.

The leader was not the only one that had noticed the sudden increase of intelligence in the hyenas. In past times, they would seldom attack by night, for some reason preferring the day, even though they could easily be seen. Also, they would never attempt an attack in very large numbers, not because they consciously chose to, but because it seemed they were too impatient to wait for others of their kind to arrive. As soon as two or three of them had grouped together, they would go straight away, not caring if it was night, day, sunny, raining, or anything else like that. But it was different then. They had changed significantly, and grown far more careful.

The main point was that they wanted the lions to help them drive the hyenas away from the land once and for all. "We know we are not the only ones bothered by them," said the leader. "In fact, they attacked us last night and killed many of our old, sick, and young. They injured one of us who was perfectly healthy, and now she cannot stand or get up on her own. I fear she will never get up again."

Simba pretended to think and consider helping them for a long time, so that they would not be angered, when in fact he had made up his mind very early on. At last he said, "I can ask the Shaman Rafiki to heal your injured. He stays with us now at this very moment, in Pride Rock. He will be here shortly." Then he said a few things to Zazu that no one else could quite catch. Zazu flew towards Pride Rock after this.

"What of our plight?" asked the leader hopefully. "We are thankful that you send your shaman to heal us, but he will have to do so many more times unless you agree to help."

"Your plan is a dangerous one," said Simba after some time. "We do not know when the hyenas will appear again. You say that you want my pride to stay by your herd and keep guard, then drive the hyenas back to the Graveyard when they attack again. But my pride is made up not only of grown adults, but also of four cubs. Who will look after them until the hyenas come again? They cannot come with us to defend you- it would be far too dangerous."

"I will hand-pick two of my herd to look after them, far away, until the plan comes to pass," said the leader. "They will be safe and out of trouble. I know the two perfect people for the job. They are very skilled when it comes to children."

"Yes, but what of the wounds that my lionesses could very well suffer? They need to hunt for food, unlike your kind, who simply forage for food among the trees and grasslands."

"Shaman Rafiki can heal them, can he not? He can heal us, so why would the case be any different for lions?"

"You misunderstand me, herd leader," said Simba solemnly and apologetically. "Shaman Rafiki can heal minor wounds in seconds without any preparation, but deeper, more serious ones, such as yours," he eyed the leader's badly wounded front left knee, "he can only offer pain relief for. Some, he may be able to cut a few days off the healing time, but that is all."

The leader opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Zazu had returned with Rafiki, who bowed to her. Immediately he said, "Your wound is deep, leader." And he took a step closer and inspected it. "I can do little good here in terms of healing, but I can clean the wound for you." He paused for a moment and then in a loud voice he said, "_Safisha_!" Immediately, the dust lifted from the leader's front left leg, and the dried blood simply became lighter and lighter until it looked almost transparent, and then it was gone. True to Rafiki's word, he had expertly cleaned her wound.

The herd gasped in amazement and whispered amongst themselves. Simba's expression remained the same, for he had seen Rafiki work his magic many times before, but even Zazu couldn't help but exclaim in wonder: "Amazing!"

The leader looked at her wound for a moment and then muttered something to herself. "Thank you, Shaman Rafiki, but you should not have wasted your magic on my cleanliness and appeal. Can you heal any of my herd?"

"We shall see," said Rafiki. "We shall see."

Then he walked through the crowd, glancing at some wounds for but a short moment, and observing others for minutes. His voice was heard many times commanding "_safisha_", but little else came from his mouth until he came to a small calf standing far to the back of the crowd. He had scratch marks all the way from the back of his neck, down to his tail where a hyena had dug its claws into him and slipped off.

"This, I can help," said Rafiki quietly. "I see that you are in great pain, my child. But do not worry. I can heal you." At that, he lifted his staff up off the ground and held it so that it was vertical. Then he looked up to the sky and said, "_Funga_!" A blinding flash of light came down from the sky and struck the child. Shrieks came from the herd in the whiteness of it all. When they could see again they saw to their horror that the calf had been thrown back a few yards from where he was initially standing, and had fallen to the ground on his back. The elephants rushed over to him, the leader to Rafiki, ready to strike him. But then the cub got up off the ground without any help. The scratch marks were gone- healed so well that it looked like they had never been there, even on closer inspection.

For this they thanked Rafiki, and he continued his search for wounds that he could heal, all the while cleaning those that he could not help in any other way, but the shaman did not find anyone else that he could help (or so it appeared).

Hours later, when Rafiki had cleaned all the wounds and relived much pain, the herd leader said, "Thank you greatly, Shaman Rafiki, on behalf of my whole herd. We owe you much." Then she turned to Simba and said, "My herd is tired. We need food and water, and most of all, rest. I will not ask you to give us your answer now, even if you have already decided. We will return to Pride Rock tomorrow, and we will be expecting to hear of your decision. Until then, we bid you farewell." She bowed first to Simba, then to Rafiki, and her herd followed her example. After this, they turned and plodded off into the distance.

By that time, it was noon. Zazu was sent back to his normal duties and Simba went with Rafiki back to Pride Rock. When he was sure that no one could hear them, Simba said, "Why'd you only heal one of them? I know that you could've done that to at least half of the herd."

"For the good of the Kingdom, Simba. And it is a good thing that you did not say anything of this in front of them. I have seen it in a vision: I heal them all, and finally you speak your mind that you will not help them, for it is part of the Circle of Life. Since most of them are fully mobile, and their troubles lie only in this Kingdom, they thunder off to the south, where they disappear from sight."

"Really? That's what would've happened if you had healed all that you could?" asked Simba in bewilderment.

Rafiki nodded slowly. "Yes. But I chose to heal the child and clean their wounds so that the herd would see us as allies that they could depend upon, and not selfish, self-preserving people in high places. You will agree to help them when they come here tomorrow, will you not?"

"They'll go southwards if I don't, won't they?"

Rafiki nodded again.

"Alright. It looks like I have no choice. I wouldn't want to lose a whole herd of elephants as allies in times like this," he ended quietly.

"In times like this?" asked Rafiki, who was half curious, half worried. "What do you mean by that?" The shaman looked into Simba's eyes, and his own pierced them like needles. "War is brewing," said Rafiki eventually. "War is brewing with the Outlanders. And you are preparing for war. That is why you were reluctant to say 'yes' to the leader at first. You were afraid not for the hunt, but for the defense. If your lionesses were to be injured and war broke out shortly afterwards, Pride Rock would surely be lost. Am I not correct?"

Simba's faced remained blank for a moment, and he tried not to look at Rafiki. Suddenly he was frowning furiously. He roared, "I will say no more!" and thundered down the stairs to the Grasslands.

X


	2. A Guardian Angel

The Pride Lands 

Chapter 2

A Guardian Angel

X

It has been told that Kiara and her friends disappear on the day of Zazu's return, and as far as Simba knew until they did get brought back, they were only gone for less than an hour, having left in the evening, and returning at night. But the truth is, they sneaked away long before evening, in the afternoon. They had quite an exciting time where they went. This is how it all happened:

When the reunion was taking place, the four cubs of Pride Rock were not only unhappy to see it happen, but they were also bored out of their wits. To get rid of their boredom, they crept through the crowd to find each other. When they did, they went away quietly into the shadow of Pride Rock where they could not be seen. There, they discussed and quarreled over where they would go.

Kiara, being the adventurous sort, wanted to visit either the Outlands or the Elephant Graveyard. At first they all agreed to do this immediately, but when they really thought about it (and how much trouble they would be in if they were caught by any adult, regardless if they were Pride Lander or Outlander), they quickly changed their minds and left Kiara disappointed.

Kiara's best friend, Hezakiah, was very cheeky and playful. He wanted to roam around the Grasslands in search for small herds that they had a chance of triggering a stampede with. But even more quickly than they changed their minds about Kiara's choice, they remembered that the Princess was a terrible stalker, and couldn't go four strides without breaking a twig or kicking a pebble. They knew that if they were to go along with Hezakiah's plans, they would all return tired and miserable, and would not be able to move the next morning.

The other two cubs' names were Rex and Helix. They were twins with coats the colour of eucalyptus bark and eyes the colour of the blue ocean, and every single physical feature that they displayed was exactly the same as the other's. They may have looked identical, but anyone who told you that they behave identically as well would have been a liar. The two were completely different when it came to behaviour and personality.

Helix was the fun and active one that loved to chase people around (namely Kiara) and wrestle anyone that was weaker than him. He had even said on numerous occasions that he wanted to become a hunter for the pride, like the lionesses. Even though Simba hunted occasionally to lighten the load on the others, Helix was still teased and ridiculed whenever he said this. He chose to go somewhere where flying things lived in abundance and chase them around. You can guess how many votes he got that time.

Rex was the opposite. He was lazy and liked to sleep all day, which he would do whenever he got the chance (which was very unlike young cubs of his age). Rex loved to curl up next to whatever or whomever he could find, and go to sleep in the lovely coziness of the cave in Pride Rock. He preferred night to day, and wasn't adventurous at all. Whenever it came to one of those decision things, he always chose the same thing, and his friends' answers would always be the same. "How about we play a game of truth or-" "NO!" shouted the other cubs in perfect unison, interrupting Rex. Of course, he was suggesting a game of truth or dare, but they knew better than to play it with him. He never chose the 'dare' option, and always thought up really, really boring questions and dares for them.

At the end of all of the squabbling, they had wasted thirty minutes of their time, and still had not come to a decision. At this time Hezakiah had gotten so frustrated that out of nowhere he yelled, "Let's go to the Waterhole!" and they all agreed to do so. It was not only because they were too tired to continue their debating, but also because the Waterhole was both a peaceful and active place where they could all find something to do which suited them. That was why the place was so popular and busy all the time, save the fact that it was the only source of water for miles around.

So after a short journey to the north of the Kingdom, the cubs arrived at the Waterhole. Each of them both hoped and guessed that no member of the pride had noticed their absence. They hoped it because they wanted to have some fun before they got home (as was and still is the nature of lion cubs), and they guessed it because if anyone had noticed, then the chances were that they would have been taken home by the time they arrived at their destination.

As they walked together into the heart of the business, few noticed them, fewer knew who they were, and even less cared. One person that did care approached Kiara. He was an elephant that once had dealings with Simba. They had met before, but Kiara was only a few days old when it had happened, and so she could not remember it.

"Greetings!" called the male as he walked towards her. "I didn't think that your father would've let you out on your own so close to nightfall, and without a path to follow!" He chuckled. "What brings you out here at this time of day, Princess?"

For a good reason, Kiara had felt that she was in danger as soon as the elephant started talking. She wondered long and hard if they had met before, but eventually concluded that they had not. Quickly and subtly she glanced behind her, expecting to see her friends, but they had disappeared: gone off to do their own things already. "My dad says that I shouldn't talk to strangers," was all that she could think of for the moment.

He looked puzzled. "Stranger?" He thought for a moment. "Oh, yes, I see!" It appeared that he had just remembered that crucial last piece of information. "You don't know who I am, do you?" asked he. Kiara did not reply that time, she was just giving him a fierce look without knowing it, but he chuckled warmly nonetheless. "My name's Tembo, but you can call me Atem if you want, like my friends do."

"How do you know me?" asked Kiara suspiciously.

"I had some business with your father when you were only little, but you can't remember, can you?" asked Atem in a rhetorical fashion. "I could notice you anywhere! Your only changes since then are your size and beauty! Of course, by size, I don't mean you're fat. Oh no, I don't mean that!" He chuckled again. "So, how'd you get your dad to let you come out here all by yourself? Did you fight him for permission?"

"No," answered Kiara with dignified solemnity, "girls don't like to fight, or do anything like that. And anyway, I'm here with three of my friends. They were behind me before you came and talked to me."

"I scared them away, did I?" Atem did not chuckle that time, but laughed heartily. "Well, the Waterhole's a big place. They could be lost, and you could get lost trying to find them, being so small and everything. Want me to help you?"

Kiara did not like being called small, or Princess, despite the fact that she was, in fact, both. Already she realised that Atem was different from most grown-ups that she knew, but could not quite yet put her finger on what made him so different. His constant laughing and chuckling would soon prove to be annoying, and she was already feeling the pinch of it. However, his offer was a good one, and she considered it thoroughly before coming to a decision. She answered, "No thank you, I'll go find them myself." Then she bowed.

Atem seemed to be quite flattered that the Princess would bow to him, and replied, "Well, you're very welcome. Remember; if you ever find yourself in a tight spot, just call my name. If I can hear you, I'll drop everything and rush right in to help."

Kiara nodded, and it became Atem's turn to bow. After he did, he plodded away, leaving her to her business.

Kiara then headed around the eastern side of the pool up to the northern end, where Zazu's tree stood (but that is not important). On her way she had to go through a whole herd of antelopes, and a flock of flamingoes.

Before she had reached the truly northern end of the Waterhole, she found a strange game of truth or dare going on, and taking part in it was none other than Rex. To her surprise, he was soaking wet, and trying to balance on a tree branch some six feet off the ground. The bough (which did not look too sturdy at all) hovered directly over the water. Putting the pieces together, she worked out that Rex had accepted a dare that involved that tree, and the water. Before she had figured any more, he leaped off the branch and made a large splash in the pool when he came back down. Those that were playing the game with him cheered and clapped wildly (as best as a snake, a monkey, and a zebra could clap). The monkey helped him out of the water, and he shook himself dry like a dog before noticing Kiara standing there, in front of him. Now she was as wet as he was, and she did not look too happy.

After a little explanation, not only was Kiara ready to play a game of truth or dare with Rex, but she was ready to find the others. They had not yet gone quite far before the flock of flamingoes that Kiara had passed earlier on in getting to Rex stirred amongst themselves, and, all of a sudden, took to the air, and filled the sky like a cloud of pink. Rex immediately guessed that his twin had caused the sudden departure of the pink birds, and Kiara agreed. They ran back down to where the flamingoes had been standing, and there they found Helix, who was looking rather beat-up at the time.

Now there was hardly anyone at the Waterhole. People were leaving, and fast. Before the cubs knew it, only a few animals lingered around the water, and they were doing nothing but drinking. Kiara could not even see Atem, whom she guessed had already left.

Then all they had to do was to find Hezakiah. They started by moving in a clockwise direction across the western banks of the lake. In fact Atem was there, and they passed him on the way, though he did not seem to notice any of them that time. He seemed to be very interested in his reflection in the water, and Kiara thought wisely that she should not bother him. They reached the northern end without seeing or hearing any sign of Hezakiah, so they went back down south in a clockwise direction, expecting to find him then. Yet, they did not. The three made two more rounds together before they decided two things: (1) they would split up that time and go in opposite directions so they had a better chance of finding who they were looking for, and (2) if they didn't find Hezakiah that time, they would call it a day and go home, leaving him to explain to his mother why he was missing for so long.

Kiara and Rex formed a group for "obvious reasons," as Helix had put it, and he went by his own, in a clockwise direction. The others did the opposite.

Before long, Helix found Hezakiah crouching in the grass, and he knew right away that he was stalking something, although he could not see exactly what it was. Quickly he ran to Kiara and Rex, not wanting to call out to them and risk Hezakiah losing his target. They ran back to the spot hastily to find that Hezakiah had only advanced one yard since Helix had left him.

"What's he doing?" asked Kiara, puzzled.

"He's stalking something. I know it," answered Helix. Rex kept quiet, as he normally did.

"Are you sure?" asked Kiara. "Looks more like he's sleeping to me."

"And that explains why you're such a bad huntress," said Helix smugly. Rex smiled at the remark, but did no more.

"Well what's he stalking?"

"How would I know? Go ask him yourself!"

So Kiara walked towards Hezakiah, and before Helix could slap himself for letting Kiara (the noisy one) go, she had kicked four pebbles, snapped one twig, and rustled the grass several times. Something big and scary stirred in the bushes ahead, and a low, deep growl was heard. Hezakiah and Kiara both froze, as did the twins. Nothing more came for the time being.

"What are you doing?" asked Hezakiah in an angry whisper.

"Helix said that I should come ask you what you're stalking," answered Kiara, also whispering.

"What? I'm so going to kill him when I get back! Couldn't you wait?"

"Yeah, probably, but I didn't want to. So what are you hunting?"

Hezakiah didn't answer. His fear-glazed eyes were pointing straight ahead. That same low, deep growl was heard again, and a large spotted figure rose up out of the grass, towering high above them. Its teeth were bared, its claws were at the ready, and its ears were folded back. It was a leopard- a very big, dangerous leopard.

The cubs slowly stepped backwards, just one more growl away from being frozen with fear. It was staring at Helix most out of all of them, and he soon found that he could not move without shaking uncontrollably. When he did try to take a step back, he lost his footing, tumbled backwards, and rolled all the way down the bank and into the water. Now he was just as wet as his brother, and they truly looked exactly the same.

Then its focus was on Rex, who could not move any more than his brother could. What was worse was that the leopard did not hesitate to attack. It leaped at the cub, snarling, and that would have been the end for Rex if not for Hezakiah (who always shone in situations like that one), who valiantly tackled him to one side, leaving the leopard to land in the sticky, muddy banks of the Waterhole.

True to his estimations, when it did land, it became temporarily stuck. Kiara caught her breath and her wits, and shouted with all her might, "Atem! Atem! A-" but she was cut off before she finished calling his name a third time, for the leopard had pulled its feet out of the mud, and was swiping at her with its claws. It would not stop, and she was growing very scared and very tired. Each time she managed to dodge the claws, it was only by luck or chance, or something that was not hers to control. There was little help anywhere: Helix was still in the water, being too small to conquer the muddy slope by himself and Rex was too terrified to move. Still, Atem did not come, yet he was their only hope.

Then she heard Hezakiah's voice calling, "Hey, you! I'm over here! Come get me!" His distraction was normally an effective and simple one, but the leopard took no notice. It may not have heard the shrill voice, but the chances were that it was not so foolish as to get distracted by such a thing. It was hungry, and lion cubs were the perfect meals: small, weak, helpless, and in four. To be very cliché, you could say that there was one to be the appetizer, two to be the main course, and one to be dessert. However, they would make no meals on that day.

With all her might, Kiara called, "Atem! Help!" and blindly swung her paw, and by some divine intervention, managed to leave three nice scratch marks down the leopard's nose. It snarled in pain, freezing there for a moment. She took the chance and ran.

Like a horn of war, a severely loud trumpet exploded outwards from behind the water-maize by the lake, and out from the grass burst Atem, roaring elephantine roars. He rampaged furiously in the direction of the leopard, and before he reached it, he reared up on his hind legs like a wild horse. When his feet landed, they made a sound like thunder, which was enough to frighten that leopard. It had fallen to the ground, but quickly scrambled to its feet and ran. Atem bellowed once more and watched the cubs' attacker nearly fall to the ground and run even faster "just for kicks," as he later described it.

"So, here are those friends that you were telling me about, eh?" asked Atem with a chuckle.

"Who is that guy?" asked Hezakiah in a whisper that was far different from the whisper that he had used earlier.

Kiara nodded to Atem, and then answered Hezakiah, "Don't worry, he's a friend." She paused for awhile, and an awkward silence broke in. "Thanks for saving us," said she to Atem. Then she said to her friends, "Well don't just stand there," (they were actually all sprawled out across the floor) "introduce yourselves!"

Hezakiah had recovered very quickly from the shock, and managed to thank Atem and introduce himself very smoothly. However, Rex and Helix were not so quick to do so, and all they managed was, "Thanks I'm Helix," and "Thanks I'm Rex." They did not even try to fool Atem into thinking that Rex was Helix and Helix was Rex, as they normally did when they met new people.

When that was all over, Atem said, "Well, I'm Tembo, but you can call me Atem, like my friends do." He looked at the twins, and as if he had just noticed it he exclaimed, "Hey, you two are soaking! What've you guys been doing, taking a swim?"

"You could say that," answered Kiara.

"Well, it's cold out here, and you guys could just catch a cold for yourselves! We better get you home, quick. I guess I better go with you." Then Helix sneezed, soon followed by Rex, and at this, Atem had a laugh. "Alright! Everyone in front of me! Single file now, straight ahead- to the big pointy rock!" When the cubs were in front of him, he gave a loud bellow that ensured the twins would not recover from their shock for many more an hour and they were off.

X

When they got back to Pride Rock, the sun was still setting, though only one thin stripe of lavender could be seen peeping over the mountains, and nothing more. At first glance it appeared that they had not been missed, but the cubs soon found out otherwise. Their sudden disappearances had only just been noticed, and minutes before they had arrived, a search party of lionesses had been sent out to find them. But as if that was not enough, Simba insisted that he had to go and search for them (I know he really meant Kiara and Kiara alone), and no one stopped him. He hastily went through the main terrace, down the stairs, and to the foot of the rock, not knowing what to expect.

It may have been the thing that he had least expected that he saw. Kiara, Hezakiah, Rex and Helix were standing there, all lined up to face him, with a dark figure standing like a stone behind them, whose presence he did not seem to realise.

"Kiara! Where have you been? What have you been doing? Haven't I told you not to go out so close to nightfall, and not to go out without asking my permission?" He eyed the twins. "And why are you two wet?"

"But daddy, we-"

"They didn't leave close to nightfall," interrupted Atem, suddenly becoming animate. Simba nearly jumped as he talked, for he thought that the shadow was that of Pride Rock, and not actually that of a fully-grown elephant. "They left in the early afternoon, and arrived at the Waterhole soon afterwards, where I met them. They tried to avoid and ignore me at first, but they warmed up to me soon enough. Your daughter said that she had to get back before nightfall, but I guess I kept 'em longer than I should have." Abruptly, and in a voice that seemed to have painfully swallowed its pride he added, "Sorry, your majesty."

Simba was lost for words. He was not expecting that any more than he had expected to see the cubs lined up at the foot of the rock. Now he was feeling quite embarrassed for having needlessly and pointlessly scolded his own child in front of an old friend. Then there was dead silence, as if even the wind was holding its breath. Atem's smile slowly disappeared as Kiara forced a big, cheesy grin.

Then suddenly Simba said, "There's no need to call me _your majesty_, Atem. I hope those kids didn't cause you too much trouble."

"No, not at all. They're great kids, nice and polite. Kiara even bowed to me, which I found very flattering." He paused for a moment. "Well, it's getting late. I really should be going now."

"I won't keep you," said Simba. "Thanks for returning these four to us."

Atem nodded, bowed, and plodded away, as was his style. The lions stood there for a moment, watching him walk. Soon enough, Simba lead the four up the stairs, but in the darkness, Kiara slipped to the back of the line, and onto the plains. When she reached Atem she called his name to get his attention.

"Oh, hey Kiara! You know it's really late. I can't play with you now. Maybe tomorrow?"

"No, it's not that. I just wanted to say thanks for saving our lives- two times in one night. My dad would've killed me if he found out the truth. He would've killed us all."

Atem chuckled. "Hey, no sweat kid. I'll do anything for the Princess. And remember, if you ever need any help, call my name."

Kiara bowed low, and headed straight to the cave in Pride Rock.

X

The next day, it was decided by the cubs that they would pay another visit to the Waterhole, and they would get there early to avoid any anger from their parents. But on that day, the cubs were not four, but only two. Their number had been halved due to colds- colds caught by Rex and Helix after dipping themselves into the water.

So this time, only Kiara and Hezakiah were left, and this time they were smart about it; they got permission from their parents, on one condition: they had to have an adult with them "at all times," as Simba had put it. Before he could choose who that adult would be (or before he could say, "Zazu,"), Kiara shouted "Atem!" So instead of watching over the cubs, Zazu was sent out to find Atem, and returned with him some time later.

Not surprisingly, Atem wanted to know what had happened to the twins, and why they could not join them on that day. Hezakiah explained it all, though there was not much to explain. Then, the elephant muttered something that only he could hear properly under his breath, and they left immediately after.

They walked, surrounded by silence for most part, save the sound of the wind and the occasional sound of the prairies. There was, of course, Atem's occasional odd comment or question, such as "You're about to see something extreme!" and "Do you want some crumpets and tea?" but none of it made any sense to the cubs. Those two particular sentences did not do so, because nothing even vaguely extreme had happened before Atem had said the first, and they had not the slightest clue what crumpets or tea was.

They had only been travelling for a short while when they came to a large boulder that stood, pointing out of the ground like a tree. It was two yards wide and slightly taller than Atem, and its surface was smooth and brown as if it had collected a tan from sitting in the sun all day. As the ground neared the boulder, it changed from plain to hillock and knoll. The change was subtle at first, but then the rises and falls became so much so that not much could be seen over them. At the sight of the boulder, Atem stopped suddenly and said, "Hey, want to see something cool?"

"Well, we just wanted to get to the Waterhole early," said Kiara apologetically. "But what is it?"

"Well, you'll have to wait and see! It's just over those hills to the east over there." He looked to the place that he was talking about. "If I remember right, it'll only take us a few minutes to get there and back. And it's early, anyway. It's not like the Waterhole's going to run away or anything, is it?" He chuckled, but Hezakiah despised the use of that old _it's not going to run away_ line, because he had heard it far too many times before.

"Alright," said Kiara. "Let's go."

X

Atem leaded them far, far towards the east, and what was supposed to be a few minutes' journey there and to the Waterhole became half-hours' journey just to find whatever Atem was talking about. Although he appeared to be lost, he didn't say anything to himself, such as "Oh, where is it?" or "I'm sure it was here before," like people who have lost something, or are lost and trying to find a particular place normally do. And when either of his companions asked him if he indeed was lost, he completely denied the truth (which you can guess for yourself). What was meant to be an eastward journey slowly turned to a northeastward one, and finally a northward one.

As soon as Hezakiah knew that they were going north, he guessed that Atem was taking them to see the Northern Border, but he kept his thought to himself. And Hezakiah was right. After what seemed like hours, the air grew thick and bore an ashy smell, and the view ahead of them became less like the savanna and more like a black, volcanic hillside. Abruptly, Atem stopped dead in his tracks, and shouted a word of warning to the cubs to watch their step. None of them knew why at first, because they had never seen the Northern Border, but when they did see it, they knew.

The Northern Border was not simply a change from grass to no grass, or a small threshold. It was a perilously steep incline in the ground, and the incline stretched and continued all along the northern end of the Kingdom. Any steeper and it could have been considered a cliff. Kiara and Hezakiah both looked over the edge in wonder, absorbing everything in like sponges. They did not even hear Atem's story of how the Northern Border came to be; they just stood there for minutes, looking down in awe. It was a long way down from Pride Land ground to Graveyard floor, so much so that it seemed certain that it had to have been made by the paws, hands, claws, feet and hooves of many, many different creatures over a very long time, and could not have occurred naturally. And to think that it completely cut the hyena land off from everything else was just too much for Kiara, or Hezakiah. Another strange thing was the dramatic change in turf. There was grass on one side, but if you had taken just one step, you would have found no trace of any sort of plant- living or dead- at all. It was almost like the hyenas were cursed with ill fortune, and everything in and around their home, wherever that may have been from time to time, would die off eventually. It was a scary thought for anyone who had enough time to think about it. Atem let them stay for as long as they wanted, and looked down at the ground with them, which made them all look rather stupid to anyone who laid eyes on them (but no one did).

When they wanted to go, he led them back to the Waterhole. It was unfortunate for them to have arrived at their initial destination at such a time, for you see, the time that it was when they arrived was the Waterhole's busiest time of day. A sea of living bodies, constantly moving, surrounded the water, and even Atem could not force his way through. If the cubs were to try and thread their way through the forest of legs, then they would surely get stepped on (as Kiara had been warned about) before even moving a few metres into the fray.

So then Atem suggested that they had better go somewhere quieter, and much less busy. He gave them two choices: the Grasslands or the Gorge.

The Grasslands was a huge piece of land that was everywhere mountains or famous landmarks were not. If you had put all the other parts of the Pride Lands together, the Grasslands would still be much bigger. It was everything from flat land, covered with an overgrown carpet of brownish-yellow grass as far as the eye could see, to vast rolling hills where life exploded into the atmosphere. All sorts of creatures dwelled on the Grasslands- mainly herd animals, for there was much food for them there. And since the herds were always there, predators were sure to be concealed in the shadow of a nearby acacia tree, or crouched low in the grass.

The Gorge was different to the Grasslands in many ways. For one, it was nothing but a deep chasm in the ground, and any type of mundane foliage that strove to grow there would sooner or later die of dehydration. Nobody went there often, for there was nothing of interest, save the hundred-foot drop to the floor of the Gorge. I have said that_ mundane foliage_ could never survive in the chasm instead of just plain _foliage_ for a good reason. There was one type of grass that could survive there, and survive there it did extremely well. It grew nowhere else in the entire world, and Rafiki named the lush, bright green, densely grown blades _Mufasa_, for it sprouted in the place where Simba's father, Mufasa lay after his fall from the wall of the Gorge at the hands of Scar, his brother. Perhaps that was a thing of interest as well, for all that looked upon the grass would later say that it was unearthly and ethereal.

Kiara and Hezakiah took a long time to choose. They reasoned that if they went to the Grasslands, they would probably find something to do eventually, though it would take a long time- but it would take even longer if they went to the Gorge, and there, it was not certain that they would. They had been to the Grasslands many times before, and seen many things while on it, but it was a big place, and they had yet to see it all. However, they had never been to the Gorge, and if they went there, they could spend the whole day exploring.

"The Gorge!" said the cubs.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Atem. "Alright, everyone in front of me! Single file, to the Gorge!" and he trumpeted like he had done the last time he had begun a journey with them, and they left.

X

When the cubs arrived, the sun was shining brightly and beautifully, high in the cloudless sky. Atem led them over the gentle slope, down the hill, and watched over them as they looked around, stared in wonder, and explored freely. When they found the Mufasa grass and set foot upon it, they could not pull themselves away- not because of some spell or enchantment, but because it was so incredibly soft that they could not help but jump around and bounce on it. However much they did jump and bounce, the grass would never remain folded for very long, and it would not break or be wounded. They imagined that the grass was wearing some kind of armor; very soft, yet effective armor. Atem only watched them for a minute or so before he suddenly said, "O man, I have to meet someone today! I'm late!" And he turned to them and said, "You kids can look after yourselves for awhile, right? I'll only be about half an hour."

Kiara and Hezakiah nearly swooned at the sound of his words. "Yeah, sure!" they answered. "We'll be waiting right here for you when you get back!"

"Alright guys. Remember, stay right here, don't climb too high, and stay away from pointy rocks. And if you need any help-"

"We'll call your name," ended Kiara with a smile.

Atem turned and rushed away at a faster speed than they thought was possible of him. In moments, he had disappeared behind the chasm's wall, and was gone.

"So," said Hezakiah, "what do you want to do? Play tag?"

"No way!" said Kiara. "Come on, let's explore!" With those words, she ran ahead.

Hezakiah could see her at first for the air was as clear as a bell, but suddenly something very strange happened. Her image became blurry and before he knew it she was gone. Then everything around him started to blur just as Kiara had. A thick fog fell on the entire Gorge, or so it seemed to Hezakiah. In a flash, he was floating in a wilderness of grey wisps and swirling white. He could feel no ground underneath his feet, and he could see nothing that was not in black, grey, or white, besides his own body. He grew frightened, and he was only about to become even more so. Like mud poured into water from a jug held high above, a thickness came upon the air and made it hard to breathe. A shadow rushed past him, and he would have sworn that it had a certain shape to it, but it was moving too fast for him to tell. Before Hezakiah knew it, he was wheezing and hacking furiously, and losing awareness of his surroundings fast.

"Kiara!" called he, in a choked cough. No answer came, and it seemed that even if he had been able to use his voice to its full extent, nobody would have heard even a whisper of it. But using his remaining breath on such a thing was foolish, for then he could not regain it.

The shadow whizzed past again, this time faster, bigger, and streaked with eerie, long-lasting neon red. Screams burst out of the very rock wall itself, so high-pitched and so terrible that Hezakiah fell to the ground and wept, for sadness, fear, and pain- pain in his ears, pain in his head, pain like his skull was about to explode and rain blood on the whole kingdom (which, for me, is a disturbing thought).

The wails continued, and in the midst of his agony he realised that they were cries, not of sorrow, but of pain such as his. He did not know it, but his screams were one of those in the horrible chorus. The black shape flew past him again and again, faster each time, until a black ring surrounded him. Like ink, the darkness crawled over him, below him, all around him.

He tried to stand up again, but his legs turned to jelly and his head swam. He fell to the ground and the darkness took him.

Meanwhile, Kiara was exploring happily in the Gorge nearby. Only then did she realise that Hezakiah was gone. "Hezakiah!" called she, and waited. No response came. "Hezakiah?" She waited for a long while, and took a step forward. Abruptly, two red dots appeared in her sights, but they quickly disappeared as Hezakiah's eyes filled the air that they inhabited.

"I'm over here!" called he. "Just a minute."

"What were you doing back there?"

"Looking around."

"Well you should've come with me. I found this really cool rock that looked like a lion's face!" said Kiara.

Hezakiah did not seem all so interested. When Kiara's back was turned, he raised an arm and swung it round to meet her. It hit like a sledgehammer and threw her across the floor of the Gorge, straight into a wall that shattered on impact. The wall cracked into rocks and boulders, and they came raining down like frighteningly large balls of hail. Her attacker bolted towards her with impossible speed and raised his arm again to finish the job. It came flying down like a hawk, but before it hit, there was a shout, and invisible forces threw him back, away from his target, all the way through the remainder of the Gorge (which was roughly one hundred and fifty strides). He hit a wall that marked the end of the Gorge, and his body dug metres deep into it. Shards of rock came tumbling down, over the tunnel, and then there was true darkness.

X


	3. Timon's Kingdom

The Pride Lands 

Chapter 3

Timon's Kingdom

X

Disclaimer: The version of "The Circle of Life" that is featured in this chapter of The Pride Lands was written by Tim Rice, with music by Elton John for Disney's The Lion King. It does not belong to me.

X

It was morning in the Pride Lands. Five hours had passed since the stroke of midnight, and the sun had not yet begun to rise. Most animals were stirring from their sleeps only now; some were just tucking themselves in, or being tucked in after a hard night's hunting or foraging.

Only one, in or on Pride Rock was awake, and it may surprise you to know that it was not Zazu. In fact, Zazu was deep in sleep. A warthog named Pumbaa was the one pacing around with things on his mind.

Pumbaa was the King's best friend. He was also a red, round pig that frequently experienced the most terrible outbreaks of flatulence. Two big sharp tusks protruded from his mouth; his hoofs were cloven; his eyes were small and kind, and in between his little ears grew a small, black tuft of hair.

When Simba fled from the Pride Lands to the desert years ago in fear of being accused of killing his father, Pumbaa was one of the two that saved him, the other being Timon the meerkat. The grew up together (well actually, Simba grew up; Timon and Pumbaa just grew old) in paradise until Nala left the Pride Lands to find help, so that the lionesses back in Mufasa's land could put an end to Scar's reign. She found them instead: a chubby warthog, a meerkat that made bad jokes, and a lion that was thought to be dead for over a decade.

But it worked. They all returned, and Pumbaa played a huge part in winning back the Kingdom. Scar was overthrown, and in five years, everything from the land to the herds had made full recoveries.

Now Pumbaa was creeping into the cave of Pride Rock where all the lions slept. But not all the lions that were normally present were so at that time, for as you should remember, Simba claimed that he would help the elephants on the count of Rafiki's foreseeing counsel. So only a small fraction of the lionesses were there that morning, for the rest were standing by the elephants and acting as bodyguards.

To the King's side he went. Ever so slowly, he moved in closer, his goal being to wake Simba up with a whisper, so that nobody else would be disturbed.

Then someone yawned. Pumbaa's head swished around. A lioness was stretching. Was she waking? Hopefully, it would not be so. He did not want to be caught disturbing the King. And he wasn't. The one who had yawned quickly returned to slumber. The warthog sighed with relief.

"Simba," he whispered. "Simba, Simba, wake up!"

Simba stirred, but his eyes remained closed and his mouth remained slightly open. "What is it, Pumbaa?" said he, in a voice that many people use when they have been woken from a deep sleep.

"I can't sleep," answered Pumbaa.

"Is it your room? 'Cause I can get a better room for you if you want. Or you can sleep here." Simba outstretched an arm, grabbed Pumbaa, and pulled him so close to himself that his friend looked more like a piece of flattened red play-dough that a round pig. But the King's eyes were still closed, and so blank was the expression on his face that Pumbaa now began to think that Simba might have been sleep talking.

"No, Simba!" said Pumbaa in a choked voice. "I just need to talk to you!"

Simba let loose his hold on Pumbaa, and he fell to the floor and gasped for air, so tight was the lion's grip.

"Fine," said Simba. And he got up, yawned, stretched, and said, "Let's go."

The two walked outside of the cave and up the stairs to the top of Pride Rock. "We won't be disturbed here," said Simba, and yawned once more. "Hey, it's still dark out. Hasn't the sun risen yet, or is there a storm coming? What did you have to talk about that was so important?"

"Well, you see, Simba, I was just wondering- I mean, I-" stuttered Pumbaa, before he was interrupted. What had stopped him was a sound so sweet and beautiful that it would be more than enough to stop the most confident, charismatic speaker in the middle of the best speech that he was ever going to make. What not only he had heard, but also every waking person in the Pride Lands was a single held note of countless voices, originating from the north of the Kingdom and spreading out like an invisible wave.

"Hey, tell me later, alright?" said Simba, suddenly fully awakened. "The birds are singing the national anthem down at the Waterhole. I haven't heard this for years! Come on!" And he rushed down the stairs.

X

Pumbaa arrived by the pool out of breath, but to make up for it, his eyes were immediately filled with such an incredible sight that to make up for that, he would have to go about blind for the next few days. In front of him, perched on trees, waddling around on the ground, standing still as stone, flapping in mid-air and presently landing were a countless number of birds. There was no sky, only feathers. There was no ground, only wings. There were no trees, just erected logs on which rainbows perched. That is, really, what they were- one huge singing rainbow. Plus, the sun was just peeking over the mountains, casting a brilliant orange glow upon the land.

Suddenly the held note ceased to be held, and in its place came the deep, bass voice of a marabou stork (who was blind in one eye, for an interesting piece of trivial information), singing a short verse in another language, presumably the language of the Pride Lands. When it stopped, there was complete silence for half a second, save the beckon of a wild dog from the south. Then the higher, softer voices of the parrots and smaller birds sang in the same language, but using different words. This repeated itself before all birds but the greater flamingoes and marabous burst into a marvelous chant that continued alone roughly eight times, before the voices of the silent birds escaped their mouths and overlapped the continuing sentence, this time in the Common Language:

_From the day we arrive on the planet,_

_And blinking, step into the sun,_

_There's more to see, than can ever be seen,_

_More to do, than can ever be done._

_There's far too much to take in here,_

_More to find than can ever be found,_

_But the sun rolling high, in the sapphire sky,_

_Keeps great and small on the endless round._

_It's the Circle of Life,_

_And it moves us all,_

_Through despair and hope,_

_Through faith and love,_

_Till we find our place,_

_On the path unwinding, _

_In the Circle, the Circle of Life. _

There was a pause in the verses, but the chant continued, this time so loud and strong that it woke all but those meant to be sleeping at the time, and those in the deepest of sleeps. Before it ended, animals of all kinds had gathered at the Waterhole; this was the one moment every day that predator and prey could go anywhere near each other before feeling even one bit afraid or worried.

Then, the finale began- the reprisal of the last verse.

_It's the Circle of Life,_

_And it moves us all,_

_Through despair and hope,_

_Through faith and love,_

_Till we find our place,_

_On the path unwinding, _

_In the Circle, the Circle of Life._

The last note was held so long that you would think that the birds could all suffocate on the spot from expelling so much breath, but they were really very good at what they did. And just after it ended- a custom of the Pride Lands- all present stamped their feet, hoofs, paws, or bodies (if the person was a snake) on the ground, once and only once, and at the exact same time. Even Simba was seen doing it enthusiastically, though in a kingly sort of way. This created a surprisingly loud sound, similar to that of a large drum. If it were a good day (which that particular day was), this would sound more like a stroke of thunder than a percussion instrument. And the sound echoed through the Kingdom, telling all that the sun had risen.

You see, in the Pride Lands, every day begins and ends with a celebration, but a different song is sung before nightfall. It tells the story of a lion's sleep in a forest, referring to Simba's time of exile (if you will) in the Meerkats' Jungle.

When the song had been sung and the thunder had been mimicked, the animals returned to their normal behaviour- drinking from the Waterhole, taking off to various places, grazing on the grass, bathing, and doing other such things that are typical of animals.

Indeed many of the birds did take off to various places, for the Golden Choir, as they were called, was made up of so many birds (as I have already told) that they could not possibly have all been Pride Landers by birth, and they were not. The Golden Choir had members from every point of the compass, and every bird who had heard the anthems and hymns that they sang would aspire to become one of them like they were obsessed (and a good many of them were just that). Of course, there are many that are not good enough to join, and when they hear it, they usually plod away, unsure of what they want in life from then on. And of course, there are those that will try even harder, like the half-blind stork whom I spoke of earlier; her name was Mwimbaji, and she has a story of her own, though I do not have enough time to properly tell it here.

And when the birds had flown away, Simba turned to Pumbaa and said, "So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well," said Pumbaa, looking as if he'd forgotten that very thing already, "you know, a guy might miss some good times he had a long time ago, right? And it's okay to feel a little- a little, um, well- a little nostalgic, right?"

Simba raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh?"

"And it's not really healthy, right? You know, if it's, well- if it's preventable?"

"So what you're saying is that you want me to bring Timon back so it's like old times? Or do you want me to let you go on vacation to the Jungle so that it'll be even more like old times? Or do you-"

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, then yeah. Letting me go to the Jungle, I mean. Maybe for just a week or two, you know? And I'd go by myself so you don't have to lose someone in your hunting party for the time I'm gone," said Pumbaa.

The joy that had collected on Simba's face during the singing of the national anthem suddenly disappeared as though he had realised something unpleasant to realise, or remembered something just as bad. His gaze remained fixed on Pumbaa in an odd stare, though it seemed more like he was looking through the warthog than looking at him. His brows were knitted in thought for a second, and then he said, "You know, I think it's a better idea to bring Timon over here. We'll need him for an important council meeting soon. I'll send someone today, alright?" He looked toward Pride Rock and saw that his wife and child were just stepping out of the cave. Pumbaa still had a look on his face that made it look as if Simba hadn't yet given him an answer. "Hey, I better go now. I'll see you later, alright?" He began to walk away with a fast pace.

"Hey, wait!" called Pumbaa. "Timon isn't part of the council!"

"It's a _very_ important council meeting!"

X

Some time later, Simba was nearly finished with telling Nala about Pumbaa's request, or rather his suggestion on Pumbaa's request. But Nala wasn't very happy about hearing this, not because she disapproved of Timon coming to the Pride Lands, but because Simba refused to tell her why he thought that it would be more convenient if the meerkat came.

"I don't see why you have to know right now!" said Simba sternly. "I've already told you that I'll reveal everything at the meeting, and I'm not even asking you to go and fetch him. I'll go myself if I have to!"

"I don't have to know, Simba, but I want to know. If you're calling thirty-five to the council instead of eight, then shouldn't I have a reason to worry? This is either something very good or very bad- and I've learned that you shouldn't always take things for granted! That's why I'm not an optimist!" shouted Nala. "Just tell me what it is, Simba. Tell me what's the big deal!"

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because- because I don't want you to worry until you have to," answered Simba quietly.

"Worry?" said Nala. "This is something that we should be worrying about- something so needing of worry that we have to call nearly five times the amount of people to council as normal, and you're not telling me what it is?"

Simba turned away, striding to the edge of the platform. He did not answer.

"Simba, we're the King and Queen of this place. We're supposed to be setting an example! Is this how you want to rule the Kingdom, concealing the facts until we 'have to worry'? What if it's too late by then? Here's an example: you still haven't told the pride or the Kingdom where Hezakiah and Kiara have really gone! Not even Hezakiah's mother, do you realise? You can't have possibly kept her silent and stress-free by saying nothing at all. You lied to her, didn't you?"

"That's none of your business!"

"Yes, it is my business! It is my business! Do you know why? Because I am your queen- _the_ Queen. And if it's none of my business, then I guess that it's just the same for his mother, right?

"Do you know how Scar prevented us from ripping him apart on that day when you disappeared? He concealed the truth! He told us that you were killed in the stampede- killed with your father! He led us down there, and we found Mufasa's body, trampled, bruised, and bleeding. But we didn't find yours. He said that he'd seen them unintentionally kicking you down the Gorge to the river!"

"I've already heard how it happened, Nala! You don't have to-"

"Yeah? Well that's what you think! Maybe I have to make you aware of what you're really doing!"

"I know what I'm doing! I don't want you to lose sleep!"

"Don't you dare turn into your uncle. Don't you dare. This had better be the last time! If you've changed your mind, now's the time to tell me the truth."

Simba remained silent.

"Fine. Don't worry about sending one of the lionesses down there. I'm going myself." And she stormed down the stairway, to the promontory.

X

Nala was just reaching the first staircase when the pride began to realise that she was going somewhere. When they approached her and asked her where she was going, all she would say was, "To see to a royal matter," or "On a long journey," or "Away- I'll be back in a week." The lioness who asked the question would suddenly stop following their queen's fast strides, fall back, and slowly return to their own business.

But then two of them offered their services; they would escort her to whatever destination she aimed to travel to, and escort her back. Their names were Baaba and Toumani, and when Nala kindly refused their offer, they reminded her about one particularly old law that stated that they had to give, "and not offer, but give" protection to the King or Queen when it seemed necessary. So, reluctantly, she accepted.

The three of them journeyed for two days before Nala told them where they were going. They did not know for sure, even when deep forest crept around them and overhanging branches cramped them, for they had never been to the Meerkats' Jungle before, nor was the name and description of the place etched deep into their minds. And though she told them of their destination, she did not tell them the reason for it, for in truth, she did not really know.

Nala looked very confident in the direction and route that she was taking, but her two lionesses wondered how it was so. This was because in the constantly told stories of the exile of Queen Nala and return of King Simba, it was always said that Nala took the longer, much less life-filled route: the Northern Desert.

However, somehow, the Queen did know her way around the place very well, and in a total of three days from departure to arrival, they arrived in the Meerkats' Jungle for a very unexpected sight. The most noticeable thing was that fireflies had been arranged in specific shapes and patterns to form pictures of certain things, such as flashing signs. The luminous insects had indeed been trained to flash in synchronization at intervals of one second, and strange foods had been given to them (really, don't ask me what they were being fed) to give their lights different colours. If any of them had seen a movie, television show, or even a theatrical production that took place in Las Vegas, portrayed as a place of gambling and other things with bright flashing lights, they would have immediately associated one place with the other. There was a public hot spring every twenty strides, buffets, classy sleeping quarters whose entry required a hefty payment of bugs, and gambling and bars where strange juices from insects and grubs were drunk. Most of all, there were people throwing up everywhere and having bodily relations (if you catch my meaning) whenever they felt like doing so. Perhaps you could imagine it quite easily due to films made for mature audiences, but if any Pride Lander were told of it before seeing the place for themselves, they would never be able to piece the picture together. I will also mention that someone, somewhere, with a strong, deep, loud voice was singing ballads.

Timon appeared out of nowhere with a fruit husk in his left hand filled with orange liquid, hair badly ruffled and matted (which his mother would never approve of), slightly bloodshot eyes, and an awkward smile plastered all over his face. Baaba and Toumani tried to recognise that type of grin, but failed. However, Nala looked as if she knew it well.

"Hey everybody!" yelled Timon in such a lazy tone that anyone would think that half his face was paralyzed. "It's Nala!" He broke into maniacal laughter and fell to the floor, proceeding to roll around on the ground and rub himself with rotting deciduous matter. Finally, his laughter abruptly stopped and he burst into tears. "Nala, everybody! Nala!" said he.

From a nearby hot spring came the sound of about ten voices, all strangely lazy like Timon's, cheering without enthusiasm and indeed not knowing what they were cheering for.

"Timon!" exclaimed Nala. "What's wrong with you? Why are you talking like that? Are you sick? Do you need-"

"Hey, don't swear, Nala!" cried the meerkat, helping himself to his feet. "Swearing is _so_ bad!"

"But I didn't-"

"You got to set an example, CRAP-BOOBS-CRAP!" And he vomited all over the Queen's feet.

Baaba and Toumani instantly sprang into action; one of them tackled him down and threateningly pointed vomit-coated extended claws at his throat while the other held him down and questioned him, "How dare you vomit on the Queen's feet!"

"Hey, that was fun!" squealed Timon. "Let's do that again! Come on, do it!" He had another fit of laughter.

"Answer! How dare you vomit on the Queen's feet? Apologise, or Toumani will slit your throat!"

"Don't worry baby, there's plenty of Timon for everyone," said he, and vomited once more with such force that the disgusting, soupy warm stuff was sprayed all over the two lioness' chests. They both let out a cry and fell back.

"It's all right, you two," said Nala, stepping forward. "Just leave him alone next time. I think there's something wrong with him. We've got to get him to Rafiki as soon as possible."

"Yeah!" cheered the hot spring-bathing meerkats that did the same earlier. At the same time, someone was heard vomiting. Then someone screamed in agony, "Oh God, it burns!"

"Do we take him back to the Pride Lands now, your highness?" asked the lionesses.

"No, not right now. I need to collect four more people before we leave," answered Nala.

"Where shall we keep this one, your highness?" they asked.

"Carry him with you wherever we go. We don't want to lose him, or his condition might get even worse." She stared at Baaba and Toumani's feet and chests. "Uh, you can wash yourselves first, if you want to."

"You should go first, your majesty," said Toumani, and Baaba agreed.

"Don't worry about me." And she wiped away the green mixture on the ground.

Nala searched the populated parts of the Jungle for the rest of that day, and her subjects followed. The four meerkats that she was looking for went by the names of Andy, Ying, Uncle Max, and Ma.

Max was Timon's uncle; a paranoid guy, he used to be, until he started living in the Jungle. The last that Nala had heard of him was that he held a daily tai chi session that went for about an hour, an hour after the break of dawn. But it was hard to imagine that anyone practiced tai chi in that Jungle, now.

Ma was Timon's mother, crazy about styling his hair in all manners of crazy shapes, colours and forms. She had been passing the time as a (no prizes for guessing correctly) hairstylist, but she probably would not have been doing that any more, for the Ma that everyone knew would never approve of living in a place such as Timon's Kingdom.

A timid rodent was Andy, for when the meerkats lived in the far south, beyond the Outlands, he was always put on sentry duty, and he saw some pretty distressing things out there, especially in the night. They said that he did a good job, because he would scream from as little as a gopher popping out of the ground. But one day he met Rafiki, the wise shaman, and arrived back at the "Pit of Shame" confident, brave, and psychologically strong. Then he wasn't so good at what he used to do, and the mandrill was blamed, for they had to find new sentries.

Finally, Ying was a wise old meerkat with a face so shriveled and sagging that his brow drooped over his eyes in an everlasting, thoughtful frown. His arms were thin, his mouth was toothless (and so he was also known as Gummy Joe), and atop his head sat three strands of hair with grey roots. Whenever someone had a question that was really plaguing their mind, they would go to Ying for the answer. Gummy had answered everything after he was over-the-hill from "How do I know it's love?" to "Should we give her a normal party, or a surprise one?" to "Why did the hornbill cross the path?"

Unfortunately for the three lionesses, they found no one of interest that day except for a psychotic lizard, and had to stay the night in the Jungle. But fortunately for them and their own mental and physical health, they chose to stay away from the bright lights and "hotels." Instead they slept in a nice little clearing with a large tree standing tall over them that had roots in the shape of a cradle, big enough for a lion to sleep in.

X

"O, my head! What the hell did I get myself into last night?" was the sound that Nala woke up to that morning. It was Timon's voice, of course, and after drinking what he had been drinking, and drinking so much of it, that the last thing that he could remember was asking the guy behind the counter at the bar for a shell of orange beetle juice.

Nala just curled up into a tighter ball, thinking that she was back in the cave of Pride Rock. Suddenly she realised that it was not so, sprang to her feet and reabsorbed her surroundings. That was when she realised that the déjà vu that she had been experiencing was on a good call. The place where she and her three companions had slept the last night was the same place where she had seen Timon and Pumbaa sleeping (and where her husband slept) all those years ago when she was exiled and found Simba. Toumani was sleepily leaning against the tree trunk that had acted as the threesome's bed, and Baaba was snoring even more loudly than she would have been if she were back at home- sleeping like a log. Timon was lying on the ground a few strides away from everyone else, as straight as the trunk of a baobab tree, quietly moaning to himself. He occasionally muttered things like, "Hey, I remember now!" and "Hm, what happened after that?" in a voice which hinted that he was in pain.

"Toumani? What happened to you? Why are you so tired?" asked Nala.

"It was him- the meerkat, saying things in his sleep all night," answered Toumani.

"Nala? Is it you? Is it really you?" exclaimed Timon.

"Yes, Timon, it's me," said Nala, walking to stand over him.

"It is you!" said Timon upon seeing Nala's face hovering over him. "Ah, my head!"

"What's wrong, Timon? Did you hit your head? Tell me everything," said Nala.

"What? No, I didn't hit my head, I was just drinking that bug juice. You know the one with the stuff added into it so it does things to you?"

"Huh?"

"We meerkats drink these bug juices with a special ingredient added into them that makes us a little crazy after we've had a few shells of it. And, well, when he wake up the next day, our heads hurt and stuff," explained Timon. "We call it a hangover."

"Is it permanent? The side effects, I mean."

"Nope, I should be fine by tonight."

"And why do you drink the juices?" asked Nala.

"Well, because- because, um… You know, I've never really thought about that. Because it's fun?"

"Because you're STUPID, THAT'S WHY!"

Timon let out a cry of pain and winced, pressing his palms to the sides of his head. "Hey, watch your voice, Nala!"

"Why?"

"Because it doesn't do wonders for my head, that's why! Now will you just let me rest for awhile?"

An evil grin crawled its way across Nala's face. "You'd better answer my questions before asking any more of your own, or I'll shout so loud, right in your ear so that your brain explodes inside your skull."

"Oh, please! No, mercy, Nala! Mercy! Aren't you supposed to be- oh, yeah, no questions. Right."

"Good. Now, you're the one who runs that place, right?" asked Nala.

"If you mean that place with the spas and bars and lounges and hotels and flashy lights, then yeah, I run that place."

"But the last time I saw that place, it was a quiet place with natural water-features and kids throwing fat grubs around near Max's tai chi class! Most of all, it had no spas, bars, lounges, hotels, or lights! What did you do to that place in the ten years that the meerkats and lions have lived apart?"

"Well, I've made it better, in my opinion. More fun, more relaxation, more class- you know, that sort of 'better'."

"Yeah? Well yours is an opinion of a SEX-CRAZED, PSYCHOTIC, ALWAYS-ON-A-HANGOVER, BAD-JOKE-MAKING FREAK!

"ARGH! Don't shout!"

"I will shout if I have to! Where do the kids go to get away from the sex and vomit? Where do the old folks go for fun? How does anyone manage to get to sleep with all that noise and singing going on every hour of the day and night?"

Timon thought out loud, "Hm, where do the kids go… where do the old folks go… how do people sleep? Well, I've never really thought about that, to tell you the truth."

"WHAT? So you just built the place, got intoxicated, and then you didn't care about anything else but filling your husk? Is that it? Do you even know where Max is? Do you even know where your mom is? And what about Ying- doesn't anyone go to him for advice anymore?"

The meerkat cringed at the noise. "No, I don't know where they are! Now could you just let me rest here for about a day and ask all your other questions tonight or something? Oh, and could you bring me a shell of water please? There's a lake just over there."

Nala pulled away so that Timon could no longer see her, and ever so slowly and quietly, she moved her lips closer to his right ear. In two seconds, a noise would erupt from that clearing in the middle of the Jungle that would shake the ground, burst through the canopy, scare birds away from the trees, freeze all in the tracks in fear of the end of the world, and barely reach Pride Rock.

"NO!

"Toumani, get some rest. You don't have to watch over Timon any more; he's not going anywhere. I'm going back to the populated area of this Jungle. I'll be back in an hour or so," said Nala, and disappeared into the trees.

X

And so the Queen of the Pride Lands found herself walking in the meerkats' version of our Las Vegas for the second time of her life. But she was not there for a round of behaviour observation; she was there on some important business- to stop the madness, and to allow the meerkats to live the simple life that all animals should.

Finding the highest place that she could climb to stand on, she roared a roar so loud that it would turn all heads in her direction and cause car accidents in rush hour, in New York City. Needless to say, all meerkats turned to her; the music stopped; the vomiting stopped; the drinking stopped, and even the fireflies stuck to the signs stopped flashing.

"Look at yourselves. Meerkats aren't meant to be living how you're living. What happened to the simple life of swimming, digging, throwing grubs around, and tai chi?"

"I ate it!" called one cheeky meerkat, and the whole crowd burst into laughter, though it wasn't really that funny.

Nala roared once more to gain attention, and it worked just as well as the first time. "Listen to me. You're killing yourselves here. You've driven away the elderly, those that have strong wills, and most children, and warped the minds of the kids that chose to stay with their far-from-responsible parents! Look at what you've become. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

"Yeah, but we aren't!" called the same cheeky meerkat's voice, and the crowd burst into laughter once more.

Nala roared a third time, but she had overused it, and the element of fear was gone. The crowd continued to laugh like a bunch of chickens, which was extremely infuriating for her. Imagine this: you've just emerged from the kitchen with several large plates of food after slaving away in the kitchen all day to serve a bunch of greedy, fat (bear with me here), distant relatives. But you never get a chance to sit down and eat because as soon as you lay the food down, they begin to stuff their cheeks with it and demand drinks from you. When you get the drinks and hand them to them, they demand straws and when you get the straws for them, they complain that the food is too salty or tough or that there's not enough of something even though anyone else would say that it was a perfect meal. Then someone spills hot chocolate all over your clothes and the whole table of fat, greedy pigs laugh, pointing chubby, greasy fingers at you. Then, just when you're about to tell them off, they get up and walk out the door, still laughing as hard as ever, disappearing into their means of transport and driving away before you get one shouted word out. I know I'd be furious- that's how Nala felt, and perhaps you can relate to this as well (elaborate example, I know- but I like elaborate things).

Fuming with white-hot rage, she leaped off her rock, flying through the air like a bird; she landed right atop one particularly fat rodent, pinned the whimpering thing down to the ground and roared once more. The crowd fell silent.

"Ooh, scary! I'm shaking!" mocked the annoying meerkat.

Nala had no more tolerance. She waded speedily through the crowd to the source of the voice (a pathetically scrawny little guy with matchstick arms and visible ribs) and plucked him from the hot spring that he was sitting in. Then she and flung him at a tree, so terribly hard that when he fell to the ground after bashing into it he was unconscious and did not wake for another four weeks. Even then, he never did get his memory back.

"You people are going to tear all of this down- the lights, the bars, hotels," (Nala had never heard these words before Timon mentioned them in her life, but she remembered everything that she heard, and was quick to use new words) "everything. And if you don't, I'll bring my whole family here- the King and all- to hunt you all down one by one, and tear you from limb to limb and eat you alive. We will stay in this jungle in wait for you if it takes the rest of our lives- which it won't." She smiled a wicked smile. "We are very good huntresses, back in the Pride Lands."

There was a long, terrified silence.

"What's it going to be?"

Someone called out, "Hey, wait! The King and Queen of the Pride Lands made a law that makes it illegal for Pride Landers to eat us! You can't touch us, missy!"

She strode to the source of the voice and towered over the rodent who trembled upon seeing her. "What did you call me?"

"I-I called you, um, well, I called you- I called you missy?" replied the meerkat.

"And you think that I won't lay a paw on you because the law that the King and Queen made makes it illegal?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

"Well, I got news for you, buddy."

Literally, the meerkats all held their breath, and they nearly passed out from doing so; Nala sure knew when and how to keep people in suspense.

Finally she ended with strong emphasis on each word she said, "I am the Queen."

The rodents were horrified. "She going to rip us apart! Kill as all!" they said, and in a wild frenzy, tore down everything with their bare hands until they hurt too much to grip a grape. That was when they used their jaws, and when they found that their teeth weren't built for tearing apart timber, they used their feet, such was their fear. When the dust cleared, meerkats were seen lying on the ground like Beanie Babies and every single thing that Timon had commanded the building of laid with them in shreds- yes, even the branches and trunks of trees were shredded- and in ruin.

Then, the cherry atop the four-foot-high pile of ice cream was placed. "Oh, and if you ever think of reverting to your old ways, guys," said Nala, "just think, this forest will soon be filled with Pride Lander birds, and they will report back to their homeland every single day."

She walked a dignified walk out of the ruinous place, back to the clearing where her three companions awaited her. Her job was done.

X

After weaving her way through thick tree trunks and snaring roots for many minutes, Nala came to a tiny clearing, but a clearing nonetheless. This indicated to her that to reach the clearing where Toumani waited, she had only to walk another two hundred strides.

Just as she was leaving the clearing and heading back into dense foliage, a faint and strangely familiar voice came from somewhere ahead of her, and though faint, it was obviously shouting. Nala could just make out the word that it had yelled; it was "Attack!" Then, many other voices bellowed and yelled in a charge. She held her breath and listened intently.

"They're all over me!" called one voice in frustration.

"Stay strong- they're only small!" answered another.

Nala recognised these voices immediately; they belonged to Baaba and Toumani. She broke into a full-speed run through the thickets, over stones, under branches, through leaves, into spiders' webs. What could be causing them so much trouble? And Baaba had mentioned their size, too; there must have been many attackers. It was horrible for her to think of what the intruders could be.

After a length of time that seemed much longer than it really was, Nala broke through the wall of scrub protecting the treeless circle and gasped at what she saw. Uncle Max had leaded a large band of followers into the area to attack her two lionesses. The meerkats all had two black lines draw across the sides of either of their cheeks with a black staining substance, and wore leaf-bearing twigs from the trees around them on various parts of their bodies to better camouflage themselves. Amongst the mayhem, Timon was not visible.

"Stop!" beckoned Nala. Everyone froze in their positions with heads turned toward her. "Max, what are you doing? Why are you attacking these two?"

Uncle Max was presently standing atop Baaba's head, but he leaped down as soon as his name was called. "Nala!" said he, in greeting. "Well, what brings you here?"

"The sound of your attack is what brings me here. Why are you doing this? What've we done?"

"Oh, these are your lionesses?" said Max apologetically.

"Yes!" barked Toumani, and the entire number of meerkats holding on to her and Baaba fell to the ground.

"Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Actually, we were just trying to get at Timon. Where is he, anyway?"

"It's because he turned the old Jungle into that place with the lights and other things, right?" said Nala.

"Yeah, that's it," answered Max. "And if I ever see him-" (he shook his fist while saying those words).

"I'm up here, guys!" called Timon from a branch above, seemingly having climbed the tree to escape the fray.

"Timon!"

"And if I ever see him, I'LL KILL HIM!" ended Max.

He grabbed a stone from the floor and hurled it at Timon, hitting him squarely in the forehead. Timon let out a cry and fell to the ground, landing with a dull thud. In seconds, all the meerkats in the circle were on him, beating him up quite badly with their bare hands, ripping out his fur with their teeth. "I'LL KILL YOU, TIMON! I'LL KILL YOU!" yowled Max with a slightly maniacal tone of voice.

But at a command from Nala, all the rodents stopped moving once more, and the lionesses managed to calm them all down so that they could see Timon and refrain from trying to tear him apart.

"You don't need to kill him," explained Nala. "The Jungle back there's a little messy, but otherwise, it's exactly the same as the way you found it."

All those present (save Nala, of course) simultaneously exclaimed, "What?" but in different tones of voice. Max's followers' voices were disbelieving ones, the lionesses' were amazed ones, and Timon's was one of a man that has just lost years and years of hard work in one second.

"NO! Life is over!" wailed Timon, and burst into tears.

"What? So you just told them to tear it down, and they did?" asked Max.

"That's pretty much it," answered Nala. "I'll take you there, if you want."

"Wait! What happens if this is all a trap? What if you take us there around a corner, and there's a bunch of hungry lions ready for lunch?" questioned Max.

"Max, if I wanted to eat you, I would've done it a long time ago. And anyway, it's illegal for Pride Landers to eat you guys, and just because I'm the Queen, doesn't mean that I'm above the law."

They agreed to be led back to Timon's Kingdom eventually, though along the way, a paranoid Max muttered of his crew's horrible deaths at the jaws of predators. Of course, he was wrong, and when they saw that everything was down, they started work at clearing the mess (not disposing of it, but simply hiding it away in convenient places, as is the nature of meerkats), and were done in a short time. All the while, Timon wept at his loss.

When it was done and over with, Max approached Nala, dusting off his hands. "Well, this is great. I take everything back about you betraying our trust and everything," said he. "We got to go back to the Hidden Waterfall tomorrow to get the others. They'll be overjoyed at this! Thanks, Nala- I mean, we really owe it to you."

"No problem; any time," said Nala.

Of course, the partying meerkats were punished, though not severely. They soon returned to their old ways of life: no wacky bug juices, no spontaneous bodily relations, and nothing too sophisticated for animals.

The group did not travel through the Jungle any more that night; they rested where they were, and awoke the next morning, bright and fresh.

Ten hours after the stroke of midnight, rodents and big cats alike set off. Nala was expecting her errand to be over very soon, and the meerkats were expecting everything to settle down very quickly. However, they were terribly mistaken, as they would later find out. Something had happened back at the Waterfall that night that would seriously delay the council meeting and unfortunately, the Pride Landers' time was not in abundance.

X


End file.
